Rian smiled. “Yeah. I’m not sure it’s possible for anyone to be “offline” these days. Jade is tethered to her franchises 24×7, I swear. It’s not that I don’t get it … I do. She works hard at taking care of the thousand details in her business, plus she’s got a couple more franchises she and Jim are looking at to set up internationally.  And it’s not just her. I have to carry my weight in the art consultancy now, you know. Demand for our services has been sky-high. But … it’s just that …”

Bette interrupted gently. “It is difficult, Rian. You’ll simply have to agree to something, maybe even force it, I think, because there’ll always be the next emergency to deal with. Your emotions are too important to keep inside. You have to share these with her now. Now, before you go crazy trying to figure them out by yourself. And that’ll never stop, let me tell you. You always have to share. Sometimes, Tina and I forget, I’ll be the first to admit that. But this time, Tina and I managed to go offline for a couple of days this week, until today, in her case … granted it took escaping to an island in the middle of the Caribbean to do it, but …”

“I do want to talk to Jade about all of this. I really do, Bette. Maybe we should hive off and go somewhere, too,” Rian laughed nervously.

“It’s so worth it, let me tell you,” Bette interjected in a much more cheerful voice.

“Ummm … I want to take her somewhere, but, to be honest, I think that this is not the best time for her or for me.”

“Uh, no. No, Rian. I told you, you might have to force it …”

“It’s not that, Bette.”

“What, then?”

“Well… how can I put this?” Rian sighed. “I’m in savings mode these days. I saw a nerve specialist last month and had to pay for it because the consult wasn’t covered by the insurance I’m using or by the package I was being treated under. He’s the best, but his services are not an expense I can claim.   It was worth seeing him, though. Worth every penny. But I didn’t tell Jade how I covered it, because I know she would have insisted to pay for …”